C02 capture: Siemens-E.ON project raises hope

E.ON and Siemens are putting a pilot CO2 capture plant into operation at the E.ON power plant Staudinger in Grosskrotzenburg near Hanau. The two companies are thus pushing further ahead with the development of a process geared toward climate-friendly coal-based power generation.

A lab-proven process is to be employed under real operating conditions at the power plant’s hard-coal-fired Staudinger Unit 5. The pilot plant will be operated with part of the flue gas from Unit 5. E.ON and Siemens intend to run the pilot plant until the end of 2010. The results achieved and the operating performance of the pilot plant will serve as the basis for large-scale demonstration plants, which are scheduled to start operation in the middle of the next decade.

In the future, too, it will not be possible to meet the rapidly growing power demand without using fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. “The challenge is to attain a significant reduction in the CO2 emissions associated with the combustion of fossil fuels. In this context CO2 capture and storage technologies will be of decisive importance,” said Michael Suess, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy. “These technologies are available but they have to be tested for deployment in large plants, developed further and brought to market readiness. The pilot plant in the Staudinger power plant will bring us a decisive step forward here,” added Suess.

“As a major contribution toward climate protection E.ON is planning industrial-scale CO2 capture and storage for coal-fired power plants starting in 2020. Operation of this new plant together with Siemens as part of our pilot fleet is an important step in this direction,” said Bernhard Fischer, Member of the Managing Board of E.ON Energie AG and E:ON’s CTO. Fischer added: “With the post-combustion process we are focusing on an highly promising CO2 capture technology, which can be backfitted in existing power plants.”

The project is being sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics under the terms of the COORETEC Initiative. It is part of the federal government’s 5th Energy Research Program “Innovation and New Energy Technologies” and promotes research and development in the field of low-CO2 power plant technologies.

With the post-combustion capture process developed by Siemens more than 90 percent of the CO2 is removed from a power plant’s flue gas using special cleaning agents. One of the advantages of this technology is that it can be combined with the well-known and further developed steam power plant process. In the CCS pilot plant at the Staudinger power plant the cleaning agent’s long-term chemical stability and the efficiency of the process are now being put to the test under real power plant conditions. In parallel, the technology will be further optimized in terms of energy consumption. Our process is characterized among other things by good environmental compatibility, comparatively low energy consumption and only very low loss of the cleaning agent used,” said Suess.

The technology for CO2 capture from the flue gas of power plants is part of the Siemens environmental portfolio with which the company earned revenues of nearly EUR19 billion in fiscal 2008, That is, equivalent to about a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue and makes Siemens the world’s leading provider of eco-friendly technology.

The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a complete spectrum of products, services and solutions for the generation, transmission and distribution of power and for the extraction, conversion and transport of oil and gas. In fiscal 2008 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of approximately EUR22.6 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR33.4 billion and posted a profit of EUR1.4 billion. On September 30, 2008, the Energy Sector had a work force of approximately 83,500.

E.ON is one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies. Its roughly 93,500 employees generated just under EUR87 billion in sales in 2008.


(Courtesy:Webwire)

New record set in solar module energy conversion

With the heightened investment in R&D in solar energy as a means to reduce carbon footprint and climate change, several new technologies are being developed to make solar energy one step closer to cost effectiveness with conventional energy sources.

The Energy Research Centre of Netherlands has reported 16.45 energy conversion for a full sized solar module, the highest ever recorded so far. Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, said that that its KhepriCoat anti-reflective coating system has contributed immensely to this world record..

The world record of 16.4%, achieved by the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), was verified by global certification and testing organization TÜV. The previous record of 15.5% from 1998 was broken by an impressive 0.9 percentage point.

The new record efficiency of 16.4% means a substantial step in the ongoing quest to bring solar energy closer to "grid parity", the point at which solar energy is equal to or cheaper than conventional electricity. This would make it broadly accessible to both industrial and residential users without state and/or government subsidies. The successful utilization of DSM’s KhepriCoat anti-reflective coating confirms its performance leadership and will contribute to the speed of implementation of anti-reflective coatings in the rapidly growing solar energy market., Royal DSM company said in a press release.

Due to an ever increasing demand for generation of sustainable energy, solar power will play a critically important role in future energy supply. To enable these developments, innovative companies like DSM are constantly working on technology breakthroughs that allow a significant cost reduction in solar systems, the release added.

One such breakthrough has been the development of DSM’s KhepriCoat anti-reflective coating on solar glass, which offers the best performance in terms of light transmission, durability and flexibility. Application of the coating to solar glass sheets has shown an increase in light transmission of around 4%, leading to a transmission rate of approximately 96% for wavelengths in the 400nm - 1200nm range.

Commenting on the new record, Paul Wyers, manager of ECN Solar Energy, said: “The added value of anti-reflective coatings in improving the efficiency of solar modules is significant. We were glad we could make use of the latest technology in this field to set our world record. Our cooperation with DSM helped us achieve a premium conversion efficiency of 16.4% on a full-size solar module, which is a huge leap from the previous record.”

It may be recalled tha tRoyal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company had recently regained its number one position in the chemical industry sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. In 2007 and 2008 it ranked amongst the top leaders in the sector.

DSM innovations are helping to address some of the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change, energy consumption and the need for a balanced food and water supply, the company said. Khepricoat is the second commercial product in DSM’s Functional Coatings program, which focuses on applying DSM’s proprietary coating technology platform to various applications. (Courtesy: Webwire)

STT mopup rises 11% to Rs 3,530 cr on bullish market

Buoyed by a resurgence in the stock market, collection of security transaction tax (STT), a tax levied on every transaction on stock exchanges, rose 11% between April 1 and September 25, over the year-ago period, according to figures compiled by the Income Tax (I-T) department.

According to I-T officials, there is a distinct possibility STT collection will continue to grow for the rest of the financial year.

STT generated Rs 3,530 crore as against Rs 3,173 crore collected during the corresponding period last fiscal. During the first two months of the current year collection dipped 24.7% to Rs 795 crore, against the comparable period.

The fall was a continuation of the slowdown in STT collection that began mid last year as the local stock market felt the tremous of a global financial meltdown. By December last year, STT collection was Rs 4,455 crore, about 32% lower than the December 2007 figure.

But things began to look up since July ‘09. Since big bourses like National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) are based in Mumbai, the city alone accounts for over 95 % of the STT collection.

Introduced in 2004-05, STT is paid by the buyer as well as the seller in a security transaction. The objective of the tax was to partly offset the revenue loss arising from the removal of long-term capital gains tax and the reduction of short-term capital gains tax from 30% to 10%.

However, the tax was opposed by brokers and investors. However, the draft tax code which has been recently announced by the government, has proposed the removal of STT and imposition of a tax on capital gains.

Indications are that STT collection, which is proportionate to the trading volumes in the stock market, will continue to grwo. While the figures for the first week of September ‘09 showed only a marginal improvement over the corresponding period last year, the collection has surged within a fortnight.

A higher trade volume has also pushed up the corporate tax collection from brokerages by 20% to Rs 580 crore.

Finally, IMF to sell 403 tonnes of gold

Finally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is selling its 403 tonnes of gold after months of speculation over the sale and its presumed impact on markets.

IMF said in a statement the sales would be in a volume strictly limited to 403.3 tonnes, with these sales to be conducted under modalities that safeguard against disruption of the gold market.

The IMF said the decision was a central element of a new income model for the institution that had been approved by the executive board in April 2008.

The Group of 20 developed and developing countries decided at their April summit in London that the money raised by the gold sales should allow the IMF to offer favorable conditions on loans to the poorest countries.

The IMF said the sale of gold will also increase the fund’s resources for lending to low-income countries, a strategy that won board backing in July.

The amount of gold is one-eighth of the current holdings of the Washington-based IMF, one of the world’s biggest holders of the precious metal.

The IMF did not state the value of the gold to be sold but based on the current bullish market price for the metal, it is estimated that the sale would fetch 13 billion dollars.

Under the approved plan, the IMF would offer to sell gold directly to central banks or other official sector holders if there were to be interest from such holders.

The IMF said such transactions would redistribute official gold holdings without changing total official holdings.

Under the fund’s Articles of Agreement, all gold sales must be conducted at market prices, including direct sales to official holders.

Also the gold sales could be conducted on-market in a phased manner over time, and such on­market gold sales will not add to the announced volume of official sales, it said.

Lessons from 1929 crisis and its relevance now

A man’s errors are his doorway of discovery- Present economic meltdown, a learning curve-Robin Trehan

We’ve all heard the saying “those who don’t learn from the past are condemned to repeat it”. Could the Great Depression happen again or did America learn its lesson?

In order to answer this question fully, one must have an understanding of the factors that caused the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent economic disaster.

Most economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, agree that the primary catalyst for the Great Depression hinged on poor policy-making by the Federal Reserve. The Reserve made the unfortunate decision to reduce the money supply during a time (the summer of 1929) when the nation’s economy was going through a severe recession. In an ill-advised attempt to preserve the worth of the American dollar during the subsequent financial crisis, the Federal Reserve increased rather than decreased the Federal funds rate. This course of action proved disastrous, causing widespread failure of banks. People lost their confidence in financial institutions and ran on the banks, demanding their deposits be returned to them in cash form. The consequences were disastrous and the Great Depression began.

Many people feel that in view of the current situation, America could once again suffer a massive economic disaster on the scale of the Great Depression. This is not surprising when one takes into account the problems that have been plaguing the nation, including market decline, mounting national debt, bank failures, widespread foreclosures and massive unemployment.

This point of view, while understandable, does reflect a worst case scenario mentality. The government has tried to learn from the mistakes of the past and craft a response that will minimize the damage rather than exacerbate it. For example, rather than increase the Federal funds rate, the Federal Reserve has cut it to extremely low levels. Other recovery measures include bailouts, rebate checks, etc.

These tactics are by no means a quick fix and many question their efficacy. However most experts feel that these efforts will, at the very least, preclude a catastrophe on the scale on of the Great Depression. Recovery may be slow and there may be setbacks, but there’s no reason to assume that the sky is falling to a the degree it did during the Great Depression. A man’s errors are his doorway of discovery.As Winston Churchill “Don't take 'no' for an answer, never submit to failure. Do not be fobbed off with mere personal success or acceptance. You will make all kinds of mistakes, but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even s”

Climate change,developing nations most vulnerable

Climate change could cost nations upto 19% of their GDP by 2030 with developing countries most vulnerable.

A report from the Economics of Climate Adaptation Working Group said that cost effective adaptation measures already exist that can prevent between 40 and 68 percent of the expected economic loss with even higher levels of prevention possible in highly target geographies.

The report, titled "Shaping Climate-Resilient Development", offers a comprehensive and replicable methodology to determine the risks that climate change imposes on economies. It provides a set of tools for decision makers to adopt a tailored approach for estimating these costs based on local climate conditions, and for building more resilient economies. These tools do not include estimates or measures for emissions reduction, which would need to be examined separately.

By determining a location's total climate risk - calculated by combining existing climate risks, climate change and the value of future economic development - and using a cost-benefit analysis to create a list of location specific measures to adapt to the identified risk, the Working Group was able to evaluate current and potential costs of climate change and how to prevent them. The methodology was tested in localities within eight different countries (China, United States, Guyana, Mali, United Kingdom, Samoa, India, and Tanzania), which together represent a wide range of climate hazards, economic impacts, and development stages.

The working group estimated expected economic loss for the eight different case study regions leveraging natural catastrophe risk modeling techniques assuming current GDP growth estimates, under three different climate change scenarios - today's climate (assuming that there is no additional impact from climate change); moderate climate change (based on the average forecast of climate change for the particular hazard in the location studied); and high climate change (based on the outer range of the climate change considered possible by 2030). The methodology is applicable in any setting where society must consider risk. For example, in Florida the report estimates an annual expected loss of $33 billion from hurricanes - more than 10 percent of GDP - under a high climate change scenario.

Overall findings from the eight case studies showed that easily identifiable and cost effective measures - such as improved drainage, sea barriers, and improved building regulations, among many others - could reduce potential economic losses from climate change for all regions. In fact, most could deliver economic benefits that far outweigh their costs - with adaptation measures that on average cost less than 50 percent of the economic loss avoided.

In Maharashtra in India, researchers evaluated the loss associated with drought, which amounts to 30 percent of the state's food and grain production - even without climate change. This loss would severely impact the 15 million small and marginal farmers. By 2030, a significant drought could lead to a countrywide agricultural loss of more than $7 billion, and impact the income of ten percent of the population. With droughts historically occurring every 25 years, extreme climate change could change that to once every eight years.

The case study determined a number of measures that could protect crop production and farmers' incomes in Maharashtra including expanded drip and sprinkler irrigation, drainage construction, improved soil techniques, and crop engineering. In fact, Maharashtra can eliminate much of its expected drought loss by 2030 through low-cost measures with benefits that often exceed their cost.

The ECA Working Group was formed in September 2008 under the initiating sponsorship of the Global Environment Facility in coordination with UNEP to develop a framework to assist in the design of climate-resilient economic development strategies. Swiss Re, a leading global reinsurer, was a lead contributor to the research. McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, drove the analytical execution and contributed to the fact base of the report. Sponsorship and key guidance was provided by ClimateWorks, an international network of foundations focused on achieving low-carbon development; the European Commission, which focused on developing a practical methodology to assist adaptation in the most climate vulnerable countries; the Rockefeller Foundation, which brought its deep experience of building climate resilience in developing countries; and Standard Chartered Bank, a global bank with a strong emerging market footprint.

(Courtesy: PRNewswire)

India’s gold imports rise by 300% in August

Is India’s gold market headed for a bigger demand boom? It seems so as the gold imports witnessed nearly a three-fold jump during August at 21.8 tonnes as compared to the previous month on rising investment demand with the onset of festival and marriage season.

The import of the precious metal was 7.8 tonnes in July this year. According to analysts, people are probably waiting for prices to come down from the Rs 15,000 per 10 gm level, with reports suggesting a further rise in prices.

However, in August 2008 the imports were much higher at 98 tonnes just before recession was officially declared and the domestic demand slipped.

Gold imports have been sluggish so far this year and were at 81.2 tonnes during January-August 2009, compared to 261 tonnes in the same period last year.

In January, only 1.8 tonnes of gold was imported followed by no imports during February and March due to lack of demand on high prices following recessionary pressures.

Earlier, gold imports had touched 20 tonnes in April, on account of ‘Akshaya Tritiya’, a festival considered auspicious for buying gold.

The import of the precious metal is likely to go up for the next 2-3 months as people will invest their money in the yellow metal for better returns.

However, by the end of the year the trend is likely to decline. The rise in imports can be attributed to jewellers wanting to stock up before the beginning of ‘Diwali’ demand.

With a bullish trend in gold there is also a rise in investor demand at higher levels giving rise to the import of the yellow metal.